As part of Kichiro's attempts to find a cure and continue his research, the doctor regularly "moonlights" at local city hospitals around Port Island, generally engaging in basic treatments and patient care.

Kichiro Higa teaches Biology at Fra Mauro University in Port Island. This will likely prove totally awkward for some students down the line.

He does not like sweets. He instead prefers sour foods and desserts.

Kichiro has two brothers: one plays professional baseball in Tokyo, the other an engineer in America. He does not keep in touch with his family at all.

Kichiro owns a home in Port Island; but as expected, it is small and about the size of a small-end American townhouse.

He also keeps it in a disheveled mess full of notes, research and other things.

This is also why no one ever gets invited to dinner. :(

He enjoys Jazz Fusion, with a guilty pleasure of R&B. Also, classical music, but that's a given because he is a doctor and it is expected.

Kichiro owns an albino corn snake. He has not named it, and will likely never do so. But he likes it anyway. It's probably his only friend.

Quote

"True scholars know no happiness--only the bitterness and misery of constant unfulfillment."

Profile and Skills

Formerly a prominent neurosurgeon in Port City, Kichiro Higa quickly fell out of reputation upon the diagnosis of Apathy Syndrome in his daughter--and understandably so. He fell hard; so hard, in fact, he quit his job and withdrew from everything he knew in search of finding some kind of cure for her. However, as result, his marriage fell apart and he lost much...until he discovered his Persona. Learning about the mysteries behind the world at large, Kichiro quickly became obsessed in his research and regaining the life he had formerly lost. This newfound strength of mind enabled him to return to society once again, taking on a position at Fra Mauro University as a professor in its Biology department. But as well and good as he may appear, there is far more beneath the surface of Kichiro Higa than meets the eye. A man trapped by his past can be a desperate, dangerous thing.

The Pursuit of (Un)happiness, The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions, Family First, In Search Of Truth, Downward Spiral, From Everything To Nothing, All For Her, Possibly Related to Harry Mason, Dapper Gent, Cannot Escape The Past, May Very Well Be Doomed To Repeat It, No Salvation

History

[ENTRY #001]

Everything has a beginning.

My name is Kichiro Higa. I was born as the third son of the Higa family. They were a kind, loving family. They treated their children and siblings equally. We were friendly, but competitive. We all got along. We obeyed our parents, we were never too terribly unruly for them. The Higa family was incredibly ideal, the envy of my parents' friends and neighbors.

My brother, Jun, was the first of the three sons--three Higa children--to graduate from college. He went overseas to work as an ocean engineer in America.

The middle child, my brother, was the athletic one. He went to play baseball in Tokyo.

As for myself, you could say I was the family prodigy. Perhaps it is bold to admit, but I was a genius from a very young age--my grades expressed as much. I had immense promise. In fact, I graduated from high school being three years younger than my peers.

You could say my parents were incredibly blessed with their children.

The early years are inconsequential. I went on to college. There, I took up biological studies. From there, I went to medical school. I had aspirations of being a neurosurgeon. I was ready to devote my entire existence to these studies. I was an over-achiever. I was unhappy unless I was absorbing texts or studying for a big exam. You could say I missed out on much of my youth.

I do not feel this way.

[ENTRY #022]

Where was I...right.

My time in college led me to meet my wife, Michiko. The two of us hit it off easily; she was schooling in business at the time, and was close to graduating. I was on my final year, and had already begun my residency. We intended to marry when she was finished with college.

At the age of twenty three, Michiko was pregnant. We had not anticipated this. We refused to let it crush our happiness. She dropped out of school and began taking up work to help make ends meet until she was due. I continued my residency.

Later that year, our daughter Kyoko Higa was born. We moved to Port Island.

[ENTRY #028]

Kyoko Higa was--is--my soul.

My daughter was everything. I was loathed to think that much of her youngest years were spent with me working late hours and long shifts. However, what time we had together was precious and perfect. We were the perfect, happy modern family. My hard work paid off. I was recognized among my peers. I was chosen as the head neurosurgeon's understudy at the hospital. I was going to be his successor at Port City hospital the following year. My star was shining brightly.

So, so brightly.

Life, for those several years, was perfect.

[ENTRY #032]

The day Kyoko Higa stopped caring about life, about living, was the day I "died.

At the age of nine, my daughter was diagnosed with Apathy Syndrome.

I didn't know how to take it at first. I felt numb. My entire body refused to move. The doctor called to me, but I swear I do not remember him talking to me. Only when Michiko touched me did I respond by nearly lashing at her. I apologized profusely. She forgave me.

‘We'll get through this,' she assured me.

Her words felt so hollow, but I accepted them.

Life, as I knew it, had no meaning anymore.

[ENTRY #042]

I spiraled into decay. I wanted nothing in life, except for the life that I had before. My wife grew colder and distant. Work began to falter as result of my lack of care or exuberance. I very nearly killed a patient that day...but who cares?

The emptiness of life was too great after a year of Kyoko's Apathy Syndrome. I began to drink heavily. I had quit my job at the hospital. My marriage to Michiko was in great, rapid decline. Several times she had threatened to leave with Kyoko. I told her I would kill her if she left with my daughter in a drunken fit.

I didn't mean it though. But that didn't help our marriage at all.

[ENTRY #051]

Michiko left on a stormy Monday night in December. I remember this day well because this was the day I discovered the existence of "Persona." How, you may ask?

The story is, in retrospect, intriguing. I had furiously drank that night. I was angry at the world, angry that life had turned out the way it had. I was mad my wife left me, that she took my reason for living--my daughter, Kyoko--with her. By the end of it, I didn't care anymore. I wanted nothing to do with life.

So, drunk, I wander to the nearest bridge in Port City. I was going to jump, except--

The stroke of midnight hit, and for the first time in my life I'd seen the world in a way I had never seen before. The world itself shifted, hues of black, bloody red and sickly greens painted the horizon, of which was littered what with appeared to be solid black coffins that reflected no light. Sure, it was dark, but the moon was so massive and gangrene-yellow they should have.

Moments after the shadows nearby began to stir...and from them crawled unspeakable dark creatures with empty eyes. Wordlessly they crept toward me. I didn't know what they were, but their intent was obvious: they wanted to kill me. Naturally, I began to panic. My heart was pounding, my chest felt as if it was going to explode.

I fell to my knees, weak and afraid. And just before they could devour me I cried out in desperation that I couldn't die here, that Kyoko needed me--!

And then it came, a manifestation of my psyche. Him.

Was this the Devil, come to take my soul?

"I am thou," it said. "Thou art I."

Surely, I thought, I was dying. There was no medical feasibility for this. This was not happening. This was some near-death hallucination, I decided.

I awoke the next day, free of harm...but that voice still echoed in my head like a pounding drum. Mephistopheles...what the hell was that about?

[ENTRY #059]

I spent a few months locked away in my apartment desperately seeking the answers to my new found mystery--but not a day went by when I thought of my dear Kyoko. That "thing" healed me--it had to have. There was no doubt about it. I should have been dead. And yet...

Eventually the answers came. It was called a "Persona" in some circles, a strange phenomena in which the psyche of a person was projected into reality. The mind was capable of such feats? My mind, no less?

Maybe this was the beginnings to the answers I was so desperately seeking for my daughter.

If I could cure her, I could have my family back...

[ENTRY #101]

The first time was the most difficult.

She was probably fifteen, maybe sixteen at the oldest. She begged me not to take her life, to let her go. She promised she wouldn't tell anyone, that she wouldn't press charges.

I told her I was sorry. The last scream was the worst to hear from her, that blood-curdling, raspy sound that eventually bled into a groaning whisper. Then a death rattle. Then that girl died.

But nothing came out of her. No Persona--nothing.

My efforts had been in vain...but at least that Persona of mine was there. Mephistopheles was a great help.

[ENTRY #110]

Another one. This time I had results. The struggle was a difficult one, but it seemed that the circumstances were nearly identical to mine after all. On the verge of death or fear, Persona /do/ emerge. The rumors weren't entirely unfounded, it seems...

I see the truth. I do not like it, but I see it.

[ENTRY #120]

A man--Himeru Satou--came from Port Island University today. He said he had heard about the awful situation my family had gotten into, and wanted to help. He said he could offer me steady work and resources, having heard about my efforts to seek a cure for Apathy Syndrome.

I began working for Port Island University's biology department the spring of 2009. It takes away from the time I could be using to find a cure...but it's a necessary evil. Just like those people--

[ENTRY #132]

Further research into Apathy Syndrome has revealed little to nothing. I refuse to give up.

[ENTRY #137]

A man approached me after my class at university today. He said he was from an "organization" with interests in Apathy Syndrome and its causes. Claimed that such things were not "needed" in the future of Japan. Invited me to attend a meeting with one of his colleagues at a future date. Interesting.

[ENTRY #140]

The man's name was Kenji Wakamoto. He said the organization he was with had their hands out in all sorts of "powerful influential" positions. He said with my help, they could further address the problems with society. Apathy Syndrome... isn't its cause rooted in society? If I join them, there may be hope for my little girl yet.

I told Kenji I was interested. He was particularly interested in my position at the university in its biology department.

[ENTRY #147]

I was introduced formally to Kenji's superior. He informed me of the New World Order. While I do not necessarily agree with the entirety of their beliefs, I am willing to give up almost anything for my little girl and her cure. I will do whatever it takes. Whatever it takes--

[ENTRY #200]

Progress has been slow. I cannot find anything beyond what I have known already. The concepts of "Persona" and the existence of them within the human mind still elude me. What brings them into existence? How is it possible for an abstract concept of the human psyche to take form and substance? How can these concepts actually affect the real world?

My studies continue. My pursuit of the cure still evades me.
I will have it though. I must have it. There is no excuse--

Just wait, Kyoko. Just wait. Wait...

Daddy will do whatever it takes. Daddy will rescue you, and we can be a family again.

The Devil of Faustian lore, Mephistopheles was a servant of the Devil and enslaved by Hell's ruler. Granter of mystic wisdom and power, all he asks of those who desire such unearthly benefits is their soul. As a reflection of Kichiro himself, he is a constant reminder of his daughter and her affliction, his inspiration to never give up, never lose sight of his goals. Kichiro is a slave to his past, as Mephistopheles is to the Devil, both lamenting their lot, but determined in the end to get what they want--no matter what it may take.

SENSE: An incredibly annoying and uncomfortable feeling, like an itch that you just can't scratch to satisfaction, restless legs just as you're about to sleep, or the anxiety of waking up several minutes before a morning alarm goes off. It's a sense of dissatisfaction overlapping incredible want and desire, the desperation of seeking fulfillment and being so close--yet so far away at the same time.

SMELL: Burning leaves, and that sickeningly sterile smell of a hospital.

SOUND: The sound of night wind blowing through a barely closed window, the echo of footfalls down an empty hallway and the distant crackle and pop of something burning.

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Notable Logs

Color Him Father: As a doctor, Kichiro Higa has seen many strange patients in his career. None are as strange as the mute Rui Onishi, a wounded young woman who takes it upon herself to see to her own treatment and care at Okina City’s hospital. To Doctor Higa, she is another patient. To Miss Onishi, she is the very image of the father she has lost.

Eclipse: The Dark Hour. A sudden increase of Lost in Port Island. What does it mean? Doctor Higa has taken it upon himself to pursue the cause of this sudden spike in Apathy Syndrome—which means more visits to “that time” in Port Island. But one particular outing affords him the chance to cross paths with one of SEES’ own Shinjiro. Is it an opportunity to forge an alliance with like-minded individuals? Or simply more means to the doctor’s selfish gains and pursuits..?

Decoy: Reverse-Apathy Syndrome is a very strange case documented only once in the Order’s files. It involved a young woman named “Minako Arisato.” And as luck would have it, Kichiro crosses paths with the formerly-stricken young woman. Through rouse and his general deception to the world, he learns a vital piece of information from the girl. She proves herself quite useful to the Doctor.

Minako Arisato: Learned about Miss Reverse Apathy Syndrome through documents and became intrigued. Very, very gullible--and useful. Kichiro met her at Fra Mauro one afternoon and eventually tricked the poor girl into revealing that there's a "special place" in the Dark Hour. It's kept the Doctor busy. The more he meets the girl, the more intrigued by her "special" nature--case in point, THE VOICES. And that she has "young cells," according to Minako. She is quite useful in his efforts to learn more about Persona and things otherwise a mystery to him. She is also A STUDENT of his now. (Current Project)

II - THE HIGH PRIESTESS

Michiko Higa: Kichiro's wife, a former college sweetheart and mother of his child. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of Apathy Syndrome in their daughter Kyoko tore their relationship apart, Kichiro's depression forcing a deep, irreparable wedge between them--and ultimately causing her to leave him. He still has feelings for his estranged wife, and hopes that upon curing their daughter she will forgive him and come back to him.

V - THE HIEROPHANT

Shinjiro Aragaki: Having crossed paths with the SEES alpha male in the Dark Hour, Kichiro was at first wary and suspect of the young man. However, opting to keep civil in their awkward first encounter, he discovered that Aragaki is possibly a key to his pursuits in finding a cure for his daughter's affliction with his potential connections. How much use he can manage out of him remains to be seen.

XII - THE HANGED MAN

Rui Onishi: A mute young woman encountered entirely by chance at Okina City's hospital, Kichiro's encounter with her was "unique" to say the least. He suspects that the young woman has endured a life that no young woman should ever have to--and this is fascinating to him. His opinion drastically changed when Rui expressed an immense desire to assist him after discovering his daughter was a victim of Apathy Syndrome through Daisuke Itami--and she truly believes him to be a good father, a gesture which touched him immensely. It also rekindled his belief that the things he does for the sake of his daughter are justified and necessary. Woops.

XV - THE DEVIL

Daisuke Itami: A way too eccentric P.I. that makes Kichiro more suspicious of his true intent in handling his "case" than anything else. The fact he seems so open in wanting to help him makes him distrust him even more--but so long as he produces information requested, Kichiro doesn't care and will keep business with Omoikane.

XIX - THE SUN

Kyoko Higa: Kichiro's daughter, afflicted with Apathy Syndrome, currently in the care of his estranged wife "somewhere" in Port Island. She is his reason for obsessive pursuits into a cure, the reason he does terrible things without remorse, the reason he works without pause in his desperate effort to find some way of fixing his daughter. Everything he does is for his little girl. She is his entire existence and reason for living.